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You 21 00:00:54.119 --> 00:00:56.119 didn't even have to wait a week. We put them 22 00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:59.119 up on the same day. Happy spootover. Speaking of Spooptober, 23 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:02.280 we have I have two new episodes coming out next 24 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:04.359 week and the week after. But if you need some 25 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:08.159 spook Toober content today right now, huh, click the link 26 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:11.760 in the show notes because there's episodes on spiderwebs and 27 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:17.959 death and dying, condors and vultures, creepy crawleys, skeletons, pumpkins, 28 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:24.359 body farms, leaves, beautiful seasonal leaves. Did I mention evil spirits? Anyway? 29 00:01:24.439 --> 00:01:28.480 It's alleyword dot com slash ologies, slash Spootober link in 30 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:30.719 the show notes. Tons of episodes plus two more new 31 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:33.359 ones next week and the next week after. Okay, let's 32 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:36.439 get into it. Oh, hey, it's still your friend's baby 33 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:39.239 who looks like a turtle. Alley Ward back with a 34 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:42.480 part two episode of Ologies. Hey, did you listen to 35 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:44.920 part one of Chiropterology about bats? 36 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:45.920 No? 37 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:50.120 Then, what are you doing here? Would you walk into 38 00:01:50.120 --> 00:01:53.040 a movie eighty five minutes in with only half a 39 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:54.079 bucket of popcorn? 40 00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:54.599 No? 41 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:57.120 So go listen to part one. You're gonna hear all 42 00:01:57.159 --> 00:02:02.359 about cave tales and bat flimflam debunkery and what is 43 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:04.560 it bad, and how are they similar to primates? And 44 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:07.200 what makes them able to sleep upside down? And why 45 00:02:07.239 --> 00:02:09.639 should we protect them? And can you build a huge 46 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:11.879 habitat that they'll come and live in? And who makes 47 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:14.800 good bathouses? And how can you train one in some 48 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:18.439 real tight spots that chiropterologists can get in, but real quick. 49 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:20.319 Thank you to all the folks at patreon dot com 50 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:23.479 slash ologies make it possible and who submit wonderful fun 51 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:26.479 questions every week, and also to anyone who rates and 52 00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:29.680 subscribes and keeps Ologies up in the charts among the 53 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:31.800 science giants. Thank you so much for that, and for 54 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:34.879 telling friends about the show, and of course for leaving 55 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:38.120 a review for me to creepily read and choose one 56 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:41.520 each week to thank such as For example, Nicole thirty 57 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:43.719 four ninety six said, I've been listening to Ologies at 58 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:45.560 work and it never gets old. I wish I had 59 00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:48.000 more time in the day to listen to every episode. 60 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:50.280 I love the uniqueness of each episode. It will keep 61 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:54.360 you extremely interested in wanting to learn more. PS Merlin 62 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:57.800 is my new celebrity crush thanks to the Bats episode. Well, 63 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:01.080 thank you, Nicole on behalf of myself and America's favorite 64 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:04.759 bad expert. So this week Part two. Now, after a 65 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:07.240 quick potty break for both of us, we concluded Part 66 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:12.439 one of this massive three hour bat extravaganza. Took a 67 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:15.120 little break. Merlin just went into his office and grabbed 68 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:18.240 an iPad containing an archive of bat calls he'd recorded 69 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:22.199 using an ultrasonic microphone, and he lent a play by 70 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:24.919 play like Vince Scully of the bat world. And then 71 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:27.879 we dove back into your patroon questions. So hang out, 72 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:32.400 open your ears to hear bat conversations about echolocation and 73 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:34.759 how to put up a bath house and more info 74 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:38.759 on white nose syndrome and bat coitus and habitats and 75 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:42.360 his favorite species and what he does in his leisure time. 76 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:46.159 So settle in for the wildlife wizardry of human treasure 77 00:03:46.439 --> 00:04:10.479 and America's favorite chiropterologist, Doctor Merlin Tuttle. I mean, it's 78 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:13.719 not every day you get down with the Marlin title. 79 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:18.480 Well, this is just a very slowed down recording and 80 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:21.920 allay there, that's a call of a free tail bad 81 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:26.759 Now that one he's just coming up on some obstacles. No, 82 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:29.439 he's actually chasing an insect that's his feeding bug. He's 83 00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:33.560 locked in. Hear that that's that's where he caught the insect. 84 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:35.399 Now he's going back to what he was doing. 85 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:39.439 Okay. So that ultrasonic recorder is called the Echometer Touch 86 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:42.879 and it's made by Wildlife Acoustics. They're not sponsors. They 87 00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:45.639 just make cool gadgets for scientists and friends to animals. 88 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:48.560 And this thing can plug into an iPhone or an iPad. 89 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:51.199 They're between like two hundred and three hundred fifty bucks, 90 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:54.040 depending on how pro of a model you get. And hey, 91 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:57.439 holidays are coming up. How about everyone gives each other 92 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:01.399 bad houses and maybe chips in for tiny ultrasonic microphones 93 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:04.279 and some of Merilin Tittle's books just wing in the 94 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:06.319 new year. Also, what if you just want to see 95 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:09.360 some bats now? First time question asker and part time 96 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:14.000 at chiropterologist in Alaska, Dave Hayna asked about bat research 97 00:05:14.040 --> 00:05:16.879 instruments and I hope that he gets one of these things. 98 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:20.560 Maybe he already has one. Also, patrons including Iris McPherson, 99 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:25.360 Lisa Butterscotch, Jamie Kishimoto all asked about the best way 100 00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:28.920 to spot one, and Nicole Bratt asked where can I 101 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:32.759 go to give bats? A tender little hug, provided they 102 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:35.399 want it. If you want to go bat spotting, if 103 00:05:35.399 --> 00:05:36.680 you want to see a bat, what's the best pace? 104 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:39.759 If I want to see a bat, Yeah, I'm probably 105 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:42.920 going to do one of several things. First of all, 106 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:44.639 I'm going to learn a lesson learn right here in 107 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:47.759 front of my house. One night. I wanted to test 108 00:05:47.800 --> 00:05:52.399 this out when I first bought obtained it, and I 109 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:55.279 went downtown and went all over places where I thought 110 00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:57.959 there'd be bats feeding, and I couldn't pick up hardly 111 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.439 at bat They left town and went out to the 112 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:04.000 agricultural areas defeat. 113 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:05.399 Oh wow. 114 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:09.439 When I came home, Paul wanted me to try and 115 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:11.600 see if they're any in the yard, and I said, no, no, 116 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:15.839 there wouldn't been out here. And it turns out that 117 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:20.120 in our neighborhood, as in most neighborhoods, most of the 118 00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:24.199 street lights are yellow now and don't attract insects, but 119 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:26.439 the one in front of our place is white. And 120 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:30.160 I got such good recordings right standing in front of 121 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:33.519 our house that the manufacturer asked to use them for 122 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:34.759 promoting the product. 123 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:41.959 Merlin says that these are social calls like I love Hey, 124 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:43.839 so they do chit chat a lot. 125 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:48.959 These are just telling them what's right in front of him, 126 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:50.680 but much more detail. 127 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:53.279 And that's a type of sonar. 128 00:06:54.319 --> 00:06:57.279 Yeah, with a bad detector, you'd be amazed how many 129 00:06:57.279 --> 00:06:59.800 times I can go out and even with a spotlight, 130 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:02.720 spot a bat, but I can hear at least one 131 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.240 or two right close, and I'm like, where hell are they? 132 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:09.920 First place I'd go looking for a bat if I 133 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:13.560 didn't have a bad detector, would be a white street 134 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:17.920 light or any outdoor powerful white light, because they attract 135 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:20.639 insects the bats like to eat, is opposed to yellow 136 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:25.040 lights that just expose into moralpredation and don't attract insects. 137 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:28.560 So go crash an insect party, but do not invite 138 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:29.279 any owlse. 139 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:33.240 The other thing i'd do if there was a river 140 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:36.639 or a lake anywhere and there were boat docks and 141 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:40.240 there were landing lights, white lights on the docks, I 142 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:42.439 would look around those, because it's a lot easier to 143 00:07:42.519 --> 00:07:46.240 spot bets out over clear open water, lying low over 144 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:50.519 the water than it is up high around street lights. 145 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:53.639 If you can find a white street light still, and 146 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:57.279 that's hard these days. Sometimes you need to shield your 147 00:07:57.319 --> 00:08:00.759 eyes from the absolute center of the lights doesn't blind you. 148 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:05.959 But then look around and you'll see bats. I used 149 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:09.160 to take people up to the state Capitol in the 150 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:12.600 springtime and we'd sit there with a bat detector and listen. 151 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:14.399 There wouldn't be anything for a while, and then we'd 152 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:18.800 hear several bats coming into the zone and we'd look 153 00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:21.720 up and you'd actually see the wings dropping from the 154 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:22.680 maths that they're eating. 155 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:26.759 Oh man, now, the wings just drop like snickers wrappers, right, 156 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:29.920 Like they don't want those, They just want what's inside, right. 157 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:33.399 I didn't realize that about mobs until I was helping 158 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:37.399 renovate a kitchen up in Montana and found out that 159 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:39.879 animals don't eat the wings. They just like to eat 160 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:43.559 the right squishy part, right, Yeah, it's like candy wrappers. 161 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:47.519 So in this case, it was a mice infestation on 162 00:08:47.559 --> 00:08:50.840 our family's little teeny tiny prairie house, and the mice 163 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:53.720 just hmm huh, they yum yum it up with the moss. 164 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:57.960 But yes, they leave the wings around like swaps. Nobody 165 00:08:58.000 --> 00:08:58.720 wants them. 166 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:02.080 So there are other ways to see bats too, you know, 167 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:05.799 watch a cave entrance where they come out at night. 168 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:09.279 I have often, you know, even been in a foreign 169 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:11.279 country and just look up and see a woodpecker hole 170 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:15.039 in a tree and wait and watch and see a 171 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:15.679 bat come out. 172 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:16.799 Who's there. 173 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:21.840 If you're in the tropics, then most places you go, 174 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:26.159 like anywhere in the tropics, you'll have various kinds of 175 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:30.360 bananas growing banana plants. Bananas are bat pollinate. We didn't 176 00:09:30.360 --> 00:09:33.200 even get into this whole part of how important bats 177 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:38.240 are pollinating economically important and yeahologically important plants. 178 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:42.799 Yes, patrons such as Sophie Cosino and Laura Kinney who asked, 179 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:46.440 aside from bats chowing down on insects, some bats are 180 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:49.840 important pollinators, right, Gwen Boat simply demanded, what can you 181 00:09:49.879 --> 00:09:52.679 tell me about bats as pollinators? I want to know everything, 182 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:53.799 Gwen Boat. Here we go. 183 00:09:54.039 --> 00:09:57.480 So if you're staying in a resort hotel in the tropics, 184 00:09:57.480 --> 00:10:02.039 and well, in fact, I've done this down along the 185 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:06.440 Gulf of California coast in Mexico, some of a lot 186 00:10:06.440 --> 00:10:09.279 of the resorts will have cardone and organ pipe and 187 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:13.440 sahuaro cactus growing right up outside your door or in 188 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:16.360 the parking lot, and there'll be lights around and in 189 00:10:16.440 --> 00:10:20.639 the right season, bats come and pollinate. They're mostly bat 190 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:23.600 pollinated in bat sea dispersed. And I've sat in the 191 00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:27.320 back of a hotel room in Mexico and watched bats 192 00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:32.679 four feet away coming and pollinating flowers. And a lot 193 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:36.519 of places will have bananas. You know, bananas flower over 194 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:40.320 very long periods during the year, and you see a 195 00:10:41.480 --> 00:10:44.679 banana that has one of the stalks that hang down 196 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:47.519 that eventually developed bananas on them. 197 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:50.720 Ps Merlin was like, what what is the word for 198 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:53.600 a stalk of bananas? Like a stem of them? And 199 00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:56.000 I was like, got me, dude, but I'll look it up. 200 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:58.159 So I did, and let me tell you, there were 201 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:00.679 some search returns that are more than new Bargain for 202 00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:04.879 when you type in banana plus anatomy. Now, at first glance, 203 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:07.240 it seemed like the word we were looking for was 204 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:10.679 just stem or stock of bananas. But then I saw 205 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:14.000 that when it's a bunch of flowers, it's called an inflorescence, 206 00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:17.600 which sounds like a new Calvin Klein perfume. Also, is 207 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:20.360 now a good time to remind you that a banana 208 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:23.639 is a berry? Or are we still reeling from that pumpkin 209 00:11:23.720 --> 00:11:27.639 fact in the qu Crebatology episode? We are? Anyway, bats 210 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:32.120 love an inflorescence, or a big stock of flowers to 211 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:33.200 motor boat. 212 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:37.159 After sun goes down, or starting a little bit before, 213 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:40.120 you'll see one of these purple bracts will start opening. 214 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:46.759 When it gets open, then the bats come and pollinate them. Now, 215 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:49.960 there aren't any New World bats that originally depended on 216 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:54.720 bananas for pollination, because bananas didn't come from the New World. 217 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:59.440 They came from the Old World tropics. But all commercial 218 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:03.960 bananas we today come from bat dependent ancestors. 219 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:05.039 This has bananas. 220 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:07.799 So anywhere in the world, just about if you go 221 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:10.440 out and you see banana plants growing in a yard, 222 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:16.919 watch those carefully at dusk or a little bit after dusk, 223 00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:19.799 and you're very likely to see small nectar feed and 224 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:21.399 bats coming in and visiting them. 225 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:25.799 So bats are important pollinators for another plant. And al 226 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:29.639 gave a clue of what that affects tequila. It's agave. 227 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:32.080 The plant's agave. Oh, but if it grows a big 228 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:35.399 stock of flowers in the middle, that's an inflorescence. 229 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:38.480 By Calvin, I mean even in Austin, I've laughed at 230 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:42.360 myself before. I'm curious. I've never gone out to a 231 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:45.240 really big, fully flowering agave plant in Austin and watched 232 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:47.919 it for a couple hours at night. There might be 233 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:50.679 nectar bats here that we don't know about yet. 234 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:53.919 Now, are you a night person or you a morning person? 235 00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:59.000 I don't think I'm naturally a night person, but I've 236 00:12:59.000 --> 00:12:59.960 certainly had to adapt. 237 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:03.919 What happens when you're out doing nocturnal fieldwork? Do you 238 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:06.000 just have like a thermis of folgers? 239 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:07.960 What do you take with you? 240 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.279 I have been accused of trying to kill people from 241 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:19.159 starvation and dehydration. I used to go on trips in 242 00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:22.360 the caves. My most arduous cave trip took twenty three 243 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:30.960 hours no and in one day we probably climbed six 244 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:36.399 or seven hundred feet of vertical ropes and on things 245 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:38.720 like that, You've got to carry all these heavy ropes, 246 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:41.919 you're climbing gear, your research gear. You don't want to 247 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:44.919 carry anything else you don't have to, So I tend 248 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:48.720 to go really light on pudding water, And I have 249 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:51.639 myself been so desperate at the end of one of 250 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:55.120 those long stays underground that one night I actually got 251 00:13:55.159 --> 00:13:57.000 down and drank water out of a puddle that had 252 00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:00.000 bat droppings in it. 253 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:02.159 Tell the tale. Do you get sick? 254 00:14:02.519 --> 00:14:02.799 No. 255 00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:07.000 Oh, do I need to remind you to never do this? Okay, good, 256 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:13.360 So bring water or emergency water purification tablets or filters. Listen, 257 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:17.080 you spend literally fifty years in the field and some 258 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:19.919 shit's going to go down, but he survived. Just don't 259 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.399 you do it? Please? So have you have you learned 260 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:26.279 a lesson? Did you never let that happen again? 261 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:28.200 No? 262 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:30.399 I don't think anybody knows me would say I fully 263 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:31.159 learned the lesson. 264 00:14:33.080 --> 00:14:35.919 Oh, that's like some Indiana Jones stuff right there. Oh 265 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:36.480 my god. 266 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:44.000 One more thing on bat watching. Another way to see bats. 267 00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:48.200 If you're in a out, if you go to Caribbean 268 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:52.440 island to a resort, or you're on Way's cruise ships. 269 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:57.080 In the tropic subtropics of Latin America, you can often 270 00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:00.679 see fishing bats with up to three almost three foot 271 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:04.159 wingspans catching minnows under dock lights. 272 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:04.840 Catching minnows. 273 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:05.480 Uh huh. 274 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:06.320 Fisher bats. 275 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:10.480 They have big hind feet and laterally compressed toes so 276 00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:12.879 that they slide through the water of minimum friction. They 277 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:16.360 have very sharp claws and they just dip down and 278 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:17.919 snag the minno out of the water. 279 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:22.399 That sounds like a pterodactyl or something. Okay, side note, 280 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:24.559 I look this up and it's impressive as hell to 281 00:15:24.679 --> 00:15:28.600 use sonar to scoop up a fish with your feet. Well, 282 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:31.679 also your hands are wings. But I did think it 283 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:34.360 was funny that fisher bats were featured on one nat 284 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:41.360 geodocumentary called I Mean they catch fish? So was the 285 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:47.200 documentary made for fish? Anyway? Sounds like another fearmonger smear campaign. 286 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.759 A bunch of bullguano you catchment drift. On the topic 287 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:52.960 of guano, some people asked how you felt about the 288 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:54.039 term batshit crazy. 289 00:15:55.399 --> 00:16:02.000 I don't have any particular response to it. I firmly 290 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:04.639 believe that if you're too much in love with the 291 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:08.320 kind of animal, you can't really effectively conserve it. Okay, 292 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:11.519 if you're too much in love with it, you're probably 293 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:14.159 going to go out into combat with everybody that doesn't 294 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:16.960 do what you think they should do. When I first 295 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:22.279 started trying to say baths, virtually everybody I met hated them, 296 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:25.519 and they would often tell me about how they kill 297 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:30.480 large numbers of them. And I had to learn you 298 00:16:30.519 --> 00:16:35.360 can't win battles without allies, good point, and you can't 299 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:38.360 get allies by fighting with everybody that disagrees with you. 300 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:40.200 If the majority disagree. 301 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:45.720 With you, welcome to Merlin's School of Conflict Resolution Wizardry. 302 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:47.159 Let's role play, shall we? 303 00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:51.720 And so I would simply ask, well, I'm curious, why 304 00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:56.600 do you do that? Well, one tried to attack me 305 00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:59.759 on it. Oh, really, I'm very interested in text, you know, 306 00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:02.960 and all my life staying baths, I've never been attacked 307 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:05.480 or see anybody that was. So I'm really curious. Could 308 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:08.000 you tell me about how this attack occurred? And we 309 00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:12.759 usually end up finding out that it was imagined and 310 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:16.039 certainly unproven, or they say, you know, somebody told me, 311 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:19.359 and I just asked, we has this person ever been 312 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:20.599 wrong about anything? 313 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:24.839 You're like, well, they're my drunk one call, and they're 314 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:25.799 wrong about everything. 315 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:30.880 You just keep asking questions until finally, you know, what 316 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:34.119 would you think of bats if you understood that just 317 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:37.839 one of that species can catch a thousand mosquitos in 318 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:42.920 an hour, or can catch enough potato beetles or cucumber 319 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:46.400 beetles in a summer to protect your garden from all 320 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:49.279 kinds of havoc. You know, I've had people that thought 321 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:51.319 they had a terrible problem with bats in their attic, 322 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:54.720 and I'd come and actually tell them how to get 323 00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:57.480 the bats to leave. But when I'd finished telling them 324 00:17:57.519 --> 00:18:02.119 about what bats did and what they were like, they'd say, no, no, no, 325 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:03.359 we don't want to get rid of them. Now we're 326 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:04.160 going to keep them. 327 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:06.400 Yeah, what do you do if you have bats in 328 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:08.279 the attic? Is it okay just to leave him up there? 329 00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:14.200 I certainly wouldn't advocate allowing bats or any wild animal 330 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:18.799 to come into human living quarters inside, But there's absolutely 331 00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:21.240 nothing to worry about from a bath that wants to 332 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:25.000 live behind your window shutter or lives in the attic 333 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:29.480 and isn't causing you know, bat droppings. Too much of 334 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:31.920 anything in the wrong place is not good. One guy 335 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:33.960 put up a bathouse over his front door because he 336 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:37.200 wanted to look and see the baths every day. Well 337 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:39.480 after they start got to be hundreds of them in 338 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:44.119 his house and start dropping a half inch iguano, he 339 00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:46.000 was calling to know how he could move him. 340 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:51.519 Maybe just consider that before you hang it up. H 341 00:18:51.559 --> 00:18:53.839 So where do you put a bat box? A lot 342 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:56.000 of you want to tips, A lot of you, such 343 00:18:56.039 --> 00:19:00.680 as Josie Gombas, Molly Henning, Trisha Lauren Dean and Blanchard 344 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:05.400 May Merrill, Robin Kewan, Eva Jen Henry, Addie Markin, Deborah Diller, 345 00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:09.720 m Wings, Sarah Greer, Robert Pulcini, Carolyn Armitage, Liz Powell, 346 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:14.880 Gretchen Herriford, Fernando Derek Allen, Ellie Abbott, Anna Thompson, Jennifer Alvarez, 347 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:20.680 Julie Noble, Highly Stouschnoff, Tristan Kwasinski, Brandy Madeleine Runyon, Charlotte 348 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:25.480 fielke Guard, Sarah Crocker, Amy, Sally colleinib and Kevin List, 349 00:19:25.559 --> 00:19:27.880 who asked, what's to do with bathouses? Why do they 350 00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:30.680 need to be on a standalone pole above a certain height? 351 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:34.160 Or Janet Sebastian Coleman, who asked, how do I befriend 352 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:35.960 the bats? How do I get them to come and 353 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.599 hang out in my yard? Or Jessica Shunk, who asked, 354 00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:41.359 how can I attract the bats to a bathouse after 355 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:44.160 we evicted them from our eves? Or will they forever 356 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:47.640 tell tales of our lack of hospitality? She sounds guilty 357 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:49.720 as hell. Okay, so I looked it up on Merlin 358 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:52.519 Tittle dot org. He has a whole guide about bat boxes, 359 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:56.599 write clickable there on his homepage. Read it and figure 360 00:19:56.599 --> 00:19:59.119 out how big of a bat box would be good 361 00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:02.039 for this species in your area, and even what color 362 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:05.240 to paint it depending on your region. So, darker bath 363 00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:08.640 houses tend to retain heat and are better for colder climates, 364 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:12.640 and ones mounted on a building retain more heat that 365 00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:16.119 the bats dig, and temperate and warmer climates might be 366 00:20:16.119 --> 00:20:19.039 better served with a bat box on a pole. Also, 367 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:22.240 in general, bats aren't crazy about ones mounted on trees 368 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:25.759 because predators can scramble right up the tree where birds 369 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:27.920 of prank and hang out in a branch and snack 370 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:31.559 on their babies like popcorn shrimp. Also, apparently there's not 371 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.759 much evidence that adding batguano will attract bats faster, so 372 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:39.400 don't deal with that shit. And if you have an 373 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:42.160 empty bathouse that just isn't getting a lot of action, 374 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:45.519 it might be because it needs seven hours of direct 375 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:48.279 daily sun, so it might need to be moved. Anyway, 376 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:51.079 go to Merlin Toddle dot org figure it out, and 377 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:54.119 then just breathe easy. He writes. If you know you 378 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:58.079 have a good bathouse mounted in a good location, be patient. 379 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:00.039 The bats will likely run. 380 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:04.960 Eventually as long as as you know, the bats are 381 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:07.680 on the outside the house, you're on the inside. I 382 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:13.160 think that's perfectly fine. And they're the old pest control 383 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:15.160 operators are trying to make a lot of money scaring 384 00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:17.200 people would tell you that they bred like rabbits, that 385 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:20.200 they once got their sin established, you'd never get rid 386 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:23.680 of them, and all that kind of thing. But not true. 387 00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:27.079 Okay, Remember, bat breeding goes a little slow, and many 388 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:29.480 of them have only one pop at a time, unlike 389 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:34.200 a soft, squirmy pile of rabbit babies. So flim flam debunked. Also, 390 00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:36.960 it didn't strike me until later then I totally forgot 391 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:40.160 to ask Marilin about bat Jenny's what's happening in a 392 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:44.519 chiropterology crotch? So Cassiana Brook wanted to know. Do bats 393 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:46.480 have penises? How do they approcreate? 394 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:46.920 Well? 395 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:49.720 I looked it up, and they do have sexual intercourse 396 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:53.480 with their penises and vaginas they are mammals. Also, bat 397 00:21:53.480 --> 00:21:58.279 dicks sometimes have eratonized spines on them that may serve 398 00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:02.599 like a barbecue brush, just to get out other bats sperm. Since, 399 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:06.319 as we mentioned briefly last week, bats love and orgy. Now, 400 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:09.319 Sam f said, I have recently read articles about fruit 401 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:13.079